The Hail Mary

Updated October 15, 2026

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Traditional English version.

Pray the Hail Mary every day with a reminder.

Start praying with Rosary & Mercy

Key takeaways

The first half is the words of the angel Gabriel and Elizabeth (Luke 1:28, 42).
The second half is a petition the Church added over the centuries.
It is the main prayer of the Rosary, prayed 50 times in one set of five decades.

What is the Hail Mary?

The Hail Mary greets Mary with the words of the angel Gabriel at the Annunciation and of her cousin Elizabeth at the Visitation, then asks for her prayers. The petition in its second half took its present form by the 16th century and was made standard in the 1568 Roman Breviary.

When to pray it

Catholics pray it in the Rosary, in the Angelus, and as a short prayer in any need. Many pray it on waking, before sleep, and at hard moments in the day.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee

These are Gabriel's words in Luke 1:28. "Full of grace" names what God has done in Mary. The Church understands it as her fullness of grace from the first moment of her life (CCC 490-493).

Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus

Elizabeth speaks these words in Luke 1:42, filled with the Holy Spirit. The name Jesus was added to the prayer in the Middle Ages to point everything toward him.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners

The Council of Ephesus (431) affirmed Mary as Theotokos, Mother of God, because her Son is a divine Person. Catholics ask her to pray for them, as we ask any friend of Christ to pray for us.

Now and at the hour of our death

We ask for her prayers in the two moments that matter most: this present one, and our last.

Questions people ask

Do Catholics worship Mary when they pray the Hail Mary?

No. Worship belongs to God alone. The Hail Mary asks Mary to intercede, the way you would ask a friend to pray for you. The Catechism describes this as asking her prayers, not adoring her (CCC 2676-2679).

Is the Hail Mary in the Bible?

The first half is: Luke 1:28 and Luke 1:42. The petition "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners" is the Church's later addition.

Why is it "amongst women" in some versions and "among women" in others?

They are the same word in older and modern spelling. The traditional text uses "amongst"; many modern printings use "among."

How many Hail Marys are in a Rosary?

A five-decade Rosary has 50 Hail Marys in the decades, plus three more in the opening prayers, for 53 in total.

Pray through what you are reading, every day, with a gentle reminder.